Canada: Public Accounts Committee to Hear from Alberta Government Officials Over ''Tobaccogate'' Contract

Source from:  edmontonjournal.com 12/03/2015

MLAs on the all-party public accounts committee voted Tuesday in favour of calling senior civil servants from Alberta Justice to respond to questions about how the contract was awarded in 2010.

"This file looks like it merits the full scrutiny of the auditor general and the public account committee. We need to understand how this happened so it will never happen again," said Wildrose justice critic Scott Cyr.

Former premier Alison Redford, while justice minister, gave the contract to the International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers consortium. The move sparked accusations of conflict of interest because Redford's ex-husband, Robert Hawkes, is a partner at one of the firms included in the consortium.

Redford was investigated and cleared in 2013 by former ethics commissioner Neil Wilkinson, but the Alberta government this week appointed former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci to review that investigation.

The public accounts committee voted to invite justice department officials to speak about contracts and the surrounding controversy in March, after Iacobucci's review is completed.

Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said this week a new review was necessary because concerns had emerged over recent days that Wilkinson may not have had all the information necessary for his inquiry.

CBC Edmonton reported last week that internal government documents show the International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers consortium was awarded the lawsuit contract despite being ranked third out of three possible firms. Enditem